I Want to be Free! with You
by Liv.Sorrow
Summary: After choosing between living with their mother or their father, twins Nami and Tomo leave America to go to Japan to live with their mother. Nine years later, the two are inseparable and applied to the same high school together. Yet, when an argument arises about seeing their father again in America, the two no longer want to be near each other! What's to come in their last year?


_There was really nothing they could do..._

They wanted to be with their father. They didn't want to be with the woman who was all the way in Japan. They wanted to stay here, in America, with the man who raised them.

"It's going to be alright." Nami squeezed her brother's hand, her white-as-snow hair draping over one black-as-night eye. "Daddy promised that Momma was going to take care of us; that we'll have fun in Japan!"

Tomo didn't even bother to answer back, hiding his face behind his mirroring hair. "But I don't want to leave Dad behind... He needs us." The crowd surrounding them avoided their small figures, weaving around them with suitcases flowing closely behind. Nami and Tomo had their own luggage: one bag each. Nami's was pink with a bunny patch ironed onto one of the pockets, and Tomo's was blue with a rocket ship patch. They were side-by-side, their hand intertwined, and their heads looking forward at the closed double doors. They—mostly Nami—waited anxiously for them to open.

Nami hesitated. "He has Carol."

Her brother scowled, his grip tightening around her hand. " _Carol_. Ugh, I don't even want to think about her."

 _But Dad loves her,_ Nami thought, turning her head to the side and kissing Tomo's temple. _So you have to love her, too._

At last, the doors flew open and the receptionist at the desk turned on the loud speaker. " _Class One boarders please board the plane at this time. Will all Class One boarders please board the plane at this time and have your ticket ready. Thank you."_ A wave of people walked up, their tickets in their hands and business suits on their body. Beside her, Tomo exhaled and ran his free hand through his hair.

"You ready?" Tomo asked. "This is your first time, right? You didn't come to California to see Aunt June."

With a shaky breath, she nodded. "Yeah." She was silent as the finally people lined up to board. "Was it scary?"

" _Class Two may now come up to board. Class Two, please come up to board."_ Tomo shrugged. "At the beginning, yes. It's a hard takeoff."

It was Nami's turn to tighten her hand. There weren't as many class two boarders, so after a dozen or so, the receptionist called for class three. It was the twin's class as printed on their flight passes, and they walked up and got in line.

The white-haired children stood out from the much taller teens and adults. They looked at them skeptically, wondering what any sane person would think if they saw children with no adult boarding a plane to the other side of the world. With no parent or guardian to accompany them, the woman scanning the tickets took their passes curiously as they stepped up by the doors.

"Where are your parents?" She asked, her light blue eyes looking fondly at the two. "If you want we can wait for them."

Nami began to blush. She looked down, squeezing Tomo's hand in a sort of pattern, as if telling him something in Morris Code.

Tomo got the hint. "No need, ma'am." He gave both tickets to the woman's fair skinned hand. She cocked her head to the side. "We're meeting our mother in Japan. Our father dropped us off here."

The woman seemed to understand; scanning the two tickets—the machine made a _beep_ sound—and handing them back to Tomo's outstretched hand. She flashed her pearly white smile at them, waving them off.

"Have a safe flight!" And they were on their way towards the plane.

Nami went in first. She walked down the aisle, past the class one and two sections, and towards the middle. "Seat thirty-two," Tomo read from the ticket to Nami. "It should be to the right." She nodded her head, looking under the overhead compartments where the seat numbers stood out in black bold print. They passed the twenties and made it to the thirties, finally approaching their row.

"Do you sit by the window?" She asked, looking back at her brother.

Tomo looked down. He shook his head. "No, I don't. You do."

Nami swung her book bag off her shoulders so she could walk in between the seats. She sat down and placed the bag by her feet, but not on the chair beside the window. "You can sit there, To," She smiled at her brother. "Daddy told me that you sat by the window the last time you flew." Tomo smiled thankfully at her, taking a seat at her right side. There was an extra seat beside Nami, one by the aisle. The twins silently looked at each other, figuring out that a person—a stranger—was going to be with them for the whole 14-hour plane ride.

The final people boarded the plane, and a woman looking around the age of 30 was the last to be seated. She sat by the twins, bringing her carry-on in the overhead compartment and her purse on the blue chair. Her hair was long and brown, similar to their mother's, but the curls were smaller and tighter. Instead of the emerald green eyes they've come to know, the woman had soft brown eyes, hazel almost. The smell of roses filled their tiny noses, most likely the result of her perfume.

Tomo couldn't look at her.

Nami stared at her.

The plane pulled out and a video of the safety procedures appeared on the screen in front of them. Nami watched excitedly, the visuals completely entrancing her. Her beady black eyes shined and focused on what was in front of her that she didn't notice her brother crying silently beside her. The woman, too, was in a trance.

Just as the plane stopped, the video faded out. Nami blinked and turned to Tomo, seeing his head bowed down and his hands clenched on his lap. His knuckles were turning white, and his nails were digging into his skin.

Nami looked concerned. "Tomo-kun?" He didn't say anything. "Tomo. Hey, it's going to be okay. _We're_ going to be okay."

He dipped his head and rested it on Nami's shoulder. She felt the warm tears soak through the fabric of her sweater and went all the way down to her pale skin. It made her shiver, yet, lay her own head on top of Tomo's.

The woman beside her smiled at them. "You two remind me of my little brother and I."

Nami nodded politely at her, her bashfulness returning. Tomo didn't say anything.

"He would always run up to me when we were kids, crying about a girl who took his crayon or the dog who didn't want to play with him." She shook her head, chuckling to herself. "He really was such a drama queen: always loved the attention."

The brunette looked over at Nami and smiled sweetly. "What's your name, sweetheart? I'm Kira."

She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. Out of instinct, Nami looked over at the white-haired boy. He slowly, but surely, nodded his head, locking their hands once again.

"Nami..." She said, merely a whisper.

Kira hunched down, her face a foot away from Tomo's bowed down head.

"And who's this handsome devil?" He flinched in her sister's arms.

"Tomo... My brother..." Nami kissed his forehead. "He's not feeling good..."

Kira nodded her head. "I understand. Sometimes flying puts me a little under the weather." As if recalling something, she giggled to herself, the airy and carefree laugh reminding the two of their mother. "I remember the first time riding a plane. The windows were closed down the whole time because I was too scared. I thought we were going to fall every second I sat there, bringing my knees to my chest and crying silently as I prayed. My little brother was a baby at that time, so he didn't really do anything but puke and cry the whole time."

Nami couldn't help but feel anxious. _Falling? I hadn't thought about that!_

As she silently prayed, Kira kept on rambling. Even though neither twin was paying attention, Kira talked as if they were. Nami listened as she told about her last trip to Japan. The way she explained it—the beautiful scenery, the great culture, and the friendly people—made Nami feel a little excited about going. She wanted to see the cherry blossoms. She wanted to go visit a shrine. She wanted to sleep in futons and tatami mats and eat sushi (even though she really doesn't like fish). Japan seemed like a whole world apart from America. And she wanted to explore it.

The seatbelt sign illuminated over them. Tomo moved around to buckle up before going back to his original position. Nami did the same and Kira followed.

"My favorite part about flying is the takeoff." She said as the belt clicked. "The rush of finally getting off the ground is exciting! Don't you think?"

 _I wouldn't know._ "Yeah..."

The rumbling beneath their feet surprised the little girl. She felt the vibration all throughout her body, tightening her grip on Tomo's hand and, to her surprise, on Kira's wrist. Kira didn't mind at all. She let Nami grab onto her wrist, leaning her head back and taking a deep breath in.

The plane rushed down the runway. Everyone was pushed back into his or her seats, and Tomo straightened his back so he wouldn't hurt his head. His tear-stained face was visible as a tear rolled down from his black-colored eye. He looked out the window, as did the other two, watching their surroundings race behind them before lifting up from the air. Slowly, everything became small as they ascended. The cars on the highway seemed like little bugs crawling. The buildings looked like big blocks of nothing. The people were so small that they disappeared all together.

Nami's grip loosened a bit after she calmed down. Only then did she realize she was holding onto Kira.

"Oh, sorry..." She quickly took her head away and rested it on the armrest.

"It's okay. I take it that was your first takeoff?"

Nami nodded. "Well, it's always scary the first time. You'll get used to it."

Nami doubted that. Instead of answering, she looked over at Tomo. He was already looking up to her, his eyes half lidded with sleepiness. She leaned in, rubbing her nose with her brother's, making him smile faintly, his first smile all week.

"I'm going to sleep." He said, his voice low. "Wake me up if anything happens."

"Hai." She brought his armrest upward so Tomo could lay his head down on her lap. He got comfy, his legs up on his chair and his hands under his head.

Tomo was fast asleep in seconds. Nami stroked his head like a cat, looking over at Kira from the corner of her eye. She noticed and gave a half smile, humming to a made up tune in her head. With her soft hum and the soft vibrations from the plane, Nami, too, started to feel tired. Her head swayed side to side, her eyes growing heavy. She tried to find a comfortable position for her head, trying every angle on the headrest. She groaned.

Her arm fell in between Kira's thigh and her thigh, the armrest vanishing between the seats. Nami's hazy face turned towards Kira who was putting her purse under her chair. She patted her thighs. "Come. Your neck will hurt if you sleep up-right." Nami didn't care if it was a stranger. She was tired from crying all week in her bed. She was tired of having to be brave for her brother, because if he saw her crying, he'd surely cry as well. She was tired of all the yelling her mother and father did before they decided to split.

She was tired of everything wrong in her life.

So she did as Kira told her. Her lap was plump and surprisingly comfy. Nami fixed herself and Tomo so that both of them are not on the verge of falling to the ground. Kira rested her hands on the top of their heads, petting them like baby kittens.

Both of the twins dreamed the same dream: that they were with their mother and father, sleeping soundly by them as they read them bedtime stories.

14 hours later, the plane docked at the airport in Tokyo. The twins were wide-awake, finishing the remains of their chicken fingers and soda that came from the food cart about two hours ago. Tomo managed to have some small talk with Kira, but never without Nami. He refused to start conversations with her, no matter how much he wanted to.

Everyone was anxious to get out of his or her seats. Nami got up and stretched, yawning as she did. Kira, once the aisle beside her was cleared, took her bag down from the overhead compartments. She waited for the twins to walk out in front of her before walking to the plane exit.

"Do you know where your mother is going to meet you, Nami-chan?" Kira asked once they exited the gate.

"Daddy said she'd be waiting for us at the gate exit," She looked around, scouting for the woman. "But I don't see her anywhere..."

Tomo towed behind them, his hands in his pockets and his head bowed down. They weren't talking in English anymore, turning to Japanese. Both twins were fluent, for their father had them practice with him inside the house. Nami absolutely loved the language, as so did her brother.

Over the sound of people walking and talking came one of heels clicking loudly on the tiled floor. It came at a rapid pace, closer and closer to where the three were standing. Tomo heard it and looked up, his eyebrows knitted with confusion.

Then, out of the sea of people, came a single woman. She was in front of Kira and Nami, bent down and holding her knees, panting heavily. She was dressed in a long beige tailcoat with jeans and a navy blue dress shirt, brown high-heeled boots accompanying the attire. Her brown hair was tied up into a bun, the bundle of hair bobbing up and down as she breathed. Looking up, her big green eyes faced the trio.

Nami's breath hitched. Tomo stood frozen. Kira smiled warmly.

"Hello, Akiko," Kira greeted. "It's nice to finally see you again."

Akiko stood up straight and dusted off the nonexistent dust from her shoulders. She looked at Kira, giving her the same smile. They walked to each other, hugging as if they haven't seen each other for a long time. "Kira! It's been forever!" They pulled back, their arms still around each other. "Thank you so much for taking care of them on the plane. Did you see Ken?"

She shook her head. "The taxi was running late, so I arrived at the airport fifteen minutes before boarding time. Ken brought the kids earlier than that."

"Well, that's alright." She gave one last smile to Kira before looking behind her at the twins. Tomo had moved beside her sister, still looking down. "Hello, kids."

Nami was on the verge of tears. "Hi, Momma."

Akiko let go of Kira completely, walking slowly towards the two. "Look how much you've grown!" She bent down, getting at their level. Her deep green eyes stared at them, a sad smile on her lips. "You both look like your father."

At the mention, Tomo rested his forehead on Nami's left shoulder, crying. Akiko started to cry as well, her make-up getting ruined as eye liner stains appeared on her pale cheeks. Before Nami could join in, she took a hold of Tomo's wrist and pulled them towards their mother. She opened her arms to them, engulfing them into her embrace. They all cried in each other's arms, not caring that people watched. Kira gazed at them from a distance, silently envying them. But, nonetheless, she was happy.

"I missed you guys," Akiko hiccupped into either one of their shoulders. "So much..."

It made them cry harder.

 **End of Chapter 1**


End file.
